Construction begins on new family owned trampoline park in Elizabethtown

People of all ages can enjoy a trampoline park, and now, Elizabethtown residents will not have to go very far to do it.

Monday, April 2nd 2018, 3:28 PM EDT

Updated:

Monday, April 2nd 2018, 3:55 PM EDT

By Lexie Ratterman

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kim Yates is a mother of five, a wife and now the owner of Elizabethtown's newest attraction, Sky's the Limit.

The idea behind creating a trampoline park came from a Yates family trip to a similar attraction in Lexington. On the way home, Yates said she questioned why her family had to drive to Louisville or Lexington to experience that kind of fun. She began jotting down ideas to open her own trampoline park. However, the idea was just that: an idea. Two years ago, Yates began bringing the idea to the surface again.

Now, the family has closed on nearly four acres of land for the park and construction begins Tuesday. However, the family not only owns an empty Players Dugout building but also the Elizabethtown Swim and Fitness Center since the buildings were sold as a package deal. The Player's Dugout building is right around 22,000 square feet and originally housed batting cages but now sits almost empty.

"We're bringing Sky's the Limit to the E-Town Swim and Fitness campus as a separate business, but they'll be able to work together," Yates said. "We're going to have joint memberships."

Yates said she is excited to own and operate the spaces, because it gives her a chance to incorporate her family in the project. Her children helped inspire some of the obstacles that will be in the park, like a Rubik's Cube tower, face-off wall and dodge-ball.

"I have always wanted something that would be kind of a legacy that I could leave behind for our kids," Yates said. "It's the American dream, you know? You build something from nothing, and it's so important for my kids to a part of this process and to take pride in owning and operating this with our community."

The community has become the driving force behind the project. Yates said as a lifelong Elizabethtown resident, she wants to give back to the community. Sky's the Limit will add to the economy and create at least 30 new jobs. Hardin County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Brad Richardson said the Hardin County Sports Park is a big factor in business during the summer and fall, and the trampoline park will encourage those families to spend money in the county.

"One of the challenges for us is keeping them in town with enough things to do," Richardson said of tourists. "Of course, this gives them another option. And with kids and a trampoline park it's perfect.

Sky's the Limit is scheduled to open Aug. 1, but a 10,000-square-foot expansion could begin as early as October, and another 10,000-square-foot expansion is in the future.